Another Way to Lesson Plan: The ASSURE Way

The ASSURE model for lesson plans was very challenging for me. Since I started teaching, the lesson plan templates I had been given were quick and easy checklists. Write the objectives. Check which skill applies. Check which media used. Check accommodations for special needs students. Check type of assessment used. Check. Check. Check. For the math teacher the EEIC (Essential Elements of Instruction Checklist) was ideal. It was ideal because in the typical math classroom the same routine was always used. Go over the new lesson, work out some examples on the board, ask questions, practice problems and then give a quiz. This method has worked in the classroom for years, but that was years ago. A new age is dawning and old age methods might not work in the new age world. The ASSURE model for lesson planning provides a planning framework suitable for dealing with the ongoing changes of media and technology in the teaching and learning environment. (Office of Information Technology, 2003). With the ASSURE model, teachers are given the opportunity to incorporate these changes into the classroom environment.

The NETS*T standard I felt applied to the lesson plan assignment is NETS*T 2A: design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity (ISTE, 2008) . It was difficult planning a math lesson incorporating other forms of technology aside from a pencil and paper. In every math class I had, most of the time was spent practicing math problems on paper. Of course, it is important to use that type of media in a math classroom because how else can a student practice working out math problems? While I was designing this lesson, I also had to think about my learners. Let's face it: Most of our students spend more time in front of a computer screen than a math book. They would rather watch the movie than read the book. It's not that they're lazy or incapable. It's just that their minds are set to the "why do we have to memorize it when we can just look it up" mentality. Information is already at the tip of their fingertips so why spend so much time getting them to memorize something when we can use that to our advantage. But the best I could come up with is a PowerPoint Jeopardy game. (I was thinking about using the game as a template for them to perhaps make their own math game, but another factor is that some students don't have a computer at home to do this assignment.)

Using technology was not so difficult in completing this assignment. At first, I did not know how to go about writing a lesson plan using the ASSURE model. We went over the components of it in our last meeting, but how to write it was a completely different story. I did a lot of online research before I was able to formulate an idea of what I wanted to do. It really helped to have templates to model this lesson plan from.

I learned that lesson planning requires a lot of PLANNING. You can never come into a classroom expecting to reach the most number of students unprepared. If you don't consider their demographics or their prior knowledge, the lesson will be a failure because you didn't prepare your students. Incorporating a variety of media into your lessons will also help reach more students who are a different learners. In lesson planning, your goal is to find the best way to reach your students so that they are successful in learning the content.


Sources:
Office of Information Technology. (2010). Assure Learning Through the Use of the ASSURE Model. Retrieved February 4, 2010, from Valencia Community College.

ISTE: International Society for Technology in Education. (2008) National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. Retrieved February 5, 2o10, from ISTE.